Hinge construction for cabinets



HINGE CONSTRUCTION FOR CABINETS Filed Feb. 27, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Inventor-s: Edgar 5.5ooddard, Philip K. Ber-man,

Their Attorney.

1942- E. s. STODDARD ETAL 2,300,939

HINGE CONSTRUCTION FOR CABINETS Filed Feb. 27, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Dhihp K. Borrnah b Hana 6x] Theh- Attorney.

Inventor-s. Edgar 5. sboddaT d u T" w 71% M W l .F- IIIIIL mi nnulnnunn.ilIIl/llil--- Patented Nov. 3, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE2,300,989 HINGE CONSTRUCTION FOB CABINETS Edgar S. Stoddard. Berwyn, andPhilip K. Borman, Chicago, 111., assignors to Edison General ElectricAppliance Company, Inc., Chicago, 11].,

a corporation of New York Application February 27, 1941, Serial No.zsossr 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a hinge construction for a cabinet and moreparticularly to a hinge construction for a cabinet of the front openingtype and has for its object the provision of new and improved hinge andcounterbalance means for supporting a door so that it can be moved abouta substantially horizontal axis between a closed and open positionrelative to the front opening of the cabinet. 7

While not limited thereto, the hinge construction of this invention isparticularly applicable for hinging the door of a front opening type ofdishwasher apparatus.

It is a specific object of this invention to provide a simple, rugged,easily assembled, and relatively low cost hinge construction forhingedly supporting the doorof a front opening type of dishwasher sothat the door can be moved about a substantially horizontal axis from asubstantially vertical closed position to a substantially horizontalopen position.

It is a further object of this invention to provide the door of a frontopening type of cabinet with an improved hinge construction the hingingaxis of which may be horizontally shifted. to compensate for slightchanges in the door construction and to insure proper positioning of thedoor relative to the opening to be closed.

It is a further object of this invention to include new and improved andrugged counterbalancing means in the improved hinge construction so thatthe door may be easily moved on its hinge between its open and closedpositions.

For a more complete understanding of this invention reference should behad to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation ofa front opening type of cabinet structure, in this instance a 'frontopening type of dishwasher, to which the improved hinge andcounterbalance construction of this invention has been applied; Fig. 2is an enlarged vertical elevation, partly in section. and partly brokenaway, showing details of construction of the improved hinge andcounterbalance mechanism which is provided for supporting each side ofthe door for the cabinet shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevation ofthe construction shown in Fig. 2, the open position of the door andthecorresponding position of the counterbalance mechanism being shown indotted lines; Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-4 of Fig.2, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. is a sectional viewtaken on'the line H of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;and Fig. 8 is an enlarged exploded view showing details of theadjustable hinge socket of this invention.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Fig. 1, we have shown ourinvention as applied to a door for closing the opening of a frontopening type of cabinet. In the specific embodiment of this inventionillustrated the hinge construction is employed for hingedly supportingthe door of a front opening type of dishwashing apparatus whichcomprises a vat ill which is supported by means of brackets II in acasing having a pair of side walls i2 and I3, a top wall M, a rear wall(not shown) and a lower front wall IS. The vat III is provided with afront opening l6 through which articles to be washed may be insertedinto and removed from the washing spaces. Provided within the vat is afluid circulating impeller ll which it will be understood is driven by asuitable motor means (not shown) the operation of which is controlled inaccordance with the position of the control element I 8. The articles tobe washed will be supported in the washing space by suitable racks (notshown) and the impeller ll when operated will hurl the washing fluidcontained in the vat Ill up and through the articles to thoroughlycleanse them in the manner well understood in the dishwasher art.

The front opening ii of the vat i0 is closed by a door I! having ahandle 20. The door 19 is adapted to be moved between a substantiallyvertical closed position and a substantially horizontal open position.Provided for supporting the door so that it can be moved about asubstantially horizontal axis between its two positions is the improvedhinge and counterbalance construction of this invention which comprisesa hinge and counterbalance mechanism II for each side of the door. Thedetails of construction of the mechanism II is shown more clearly inFigs. 2-6. It will be understood that these figures illustrate themechanism for one side only of the door IS, in this instance the leftside as viewed in Fig. 1. An identical mechanism it will be understoodis provided-for hingedly supporting the right side of the door l9.

Referring to Figs. 2-6, it will be observed that the door I! includes afront panel 22 and a rear panel 23. Lying between the front and rearpanels is a vertically extending hinge member which comprises avertically extending channel member 24 having a de ressed centralportion 25 to which is spot welded a U-shaped reinforcing plate 26. Asshown in Figs. 4 and 5, the hinge member is spaced from and secured tothe lower end of the front panel by means of the bolt 21 and the spacerblock 28 and is secured to the rear panel by the vertically spaced bolts23 which are threadedly received in the plates 30 welded to the back ofpanel 23. At the lower end of the channel member 24 the width of theside walls is increased to produce the projecting portions 3| throughwhich a hinge pin or pintle 32 extends so as to lie above the point atwhich the hinge member is secured to the front panel 22. The pintle issupported in the projecting portions 3| so that the left-hand endthereof. as viewed in Fig. 4, projects outwardly from the left-hand legportion 3|.

Mounted on the inside surface of the adjacent side wall of the casing inthe lower front corner thereof is a hinge bracket 33. This bracket isprovided along one edge with an integrally formed flange 34 which iswelded or otherwise secured to the adjacent side wall of the frame andis provided on its opposite edge in the lower corner thereof with asecond integrally formed flange 35 which is welded to an angle plate 33which in turn is secured to the bottom frame 31 of the casing. Thus thehinge bracket is rigidly and securely held in position on the side wallof the casing. Provided in the upper left-hand corner of the hingebracket is a pair of openings 38 and 33. Adapted to project through theopening 38 is a hinge socket 40 having an integrally formed base 4|. Thehinge socket 40 is secured to the hinge bracket 33 by means of a bolt 42which is adapted to extend through the opening 39 and is threadedlyreceived in an opening 43 in the base 4|. Included in the hinge socketis an axially extending opening 44 which is adapted to receive rotatablythe projecting end of the hinge pin or pintle 32. As also shown indetail in Fig. 6 a portion of the wall for the opening 44 is cut awaynear the end of the socket to define an open slot or recess 45. By meansof this slot the projecting end of the pintle may be inserted into theopening 44 by means of a substantially radial movement of the pintlerelative to the socket. However, it is to be observed that the socket isonly cut away along a part of the length of the opening 44. Along theremainder of the length of the opening the socket wall completelysurrounds the opening to define a depression which is adapted to receivein telescoping relation the end of the pintle. Since the walls of thedepression completely surround the end of the pintle on all sides it isobvious that when the end of the pintle is inserted into the depressiondisengagement between the socket and the pintle can only be effected byan axial movement to the left of the socket relative to the pintle.

When the end of the pintle 32 is in engagement with the socket 40, thedoor is hingedly supported on the hinge bracket 33 so that it can bepivoted about a substantially horizontal axis. In order to provide forhorizontal adjustment of the hinge axis to accommodate for smalldifferences in the door assembly and to insure proper alignment of thedoor l9 with the opening I, the openings 38 and 39 provided in the hingebracket are elongated. This permits substantially horizontal movement ofthe base ll relative to the bracket 33 so that the socket 40 may bemoved backwardly or forwardly to vary the position of the pivot point ofthe pintle 32. With such an adjustment provided in the hinge bracket foreach side of the door the hinge axis can be easily aligned and shiftedif desired.

In assemblingthe hinge construction thus far described, the hinge member2a is mounted in its operative position in the door l3 and the pintle 32is mounted on the member 24. The socket 43 is next loosely mounted onthe hinge bracket 33, which has been previously welded to the side panell2, in a position which is located laterally of its operative positionshown in Figs. 2 and 4. While the socket is thus loosely supported theprojecting end of the pintle is moved down through the open slot 45 intothe opening 44. Next the bolt 42 is tightened so as to draw the base 4iof the socket up against the bracket 33. This produces a substantiallyaxial movement of the socket relative to the pintle so that the endthereof projects into the completely walled portion of the opening 44formed in the socket. So long as the base 4i is firmly secured to thebracket 33 by means of the bolt 42, the pintle will be nonremovably heldin position in the socket 40. Prior to the final tightening of the bolt42 the entire assembly will be adjusted horizontally, that is, in aradial direction with reference to the bracket, to obtain the properalignment of the hinge axis and insure that the door I3 is properlymounted relative to the opening I8.

In operation of the improved hinge construction it is apparent that thedoor will pivot about the pivot point formed by the pintle 32 and thesocket 40 and may be swung about the horizontal axis defined therebyfrom its vertically closed position to an open position. In order tolimit the opening movement of the door [3 to a position in which thedoor is substantially horizontal, there is welded to the hinge bracket33 a stop bracket 43 which is provided with a projection 41 (Fig. 2)against which the lower end of the member 24 is adapted to abut.

In order to facilitate the hinging of the door and at the same time tobias it to its closed position there is provided a counterbalancemechanism which comprises a lever 48. One end of the lever 48 is pivotedat 43 to the lowermost end of the hinge member 24. The opposite end ofthe lever is pivotally connected to a pair of links 50 and 5| which inturn are rotatably supported on a fixed pivot pin 52 secured to thehinge bracket 33. As shown in Fig. 2, the links 50 and ii are positionedon opposite sides of the lever 43. By means of this construction anysubstantial lateral movement of the outer or moving end oi the lever 43is prevented. Extending between the lever 48 and a fixed pin 53supported in the bracket 33 is a tension spring 54 which is positionedso as to apply force to the lever 43 tending to bias the door l9 to itsclosed position. In order to provide a connection between the tensionspring and the lever which will substantially resist wear during use andthereby prevent erratic operation of the biasing means, there isprovided in the lever 48, near the outer end thereof, a pin 59 uponwhich is rotatably mounted a roller 56 over which the hooked end 51 ofthe spring 54 is adapted to lie.

In operation of this improved counterbalancing and biasing mechanism itwill be observed from Fig. 3 that so long as the door is in its closedposition or substantially closed position, the tension spring 54 willexert a force on the lever 43 which is transmitted to the lower end ofthe door to pivot it clockwise about its hinge axis to the closedposition. When the door is moved from its. closed position toward itsopen position, the tension spring is extended and energy is stored inthe spring which can be utilized to facilitate the closing of the door.Upon movement of the door to its fully open position the tension springexerts a force on the lever 48 which is sufficient to substantiallycounterbalance the weight of the door. Thus when the door is in its openor substantially open position, its weight will be balanced by the forceof the spring 54 so that only the exertion of a slight additional upwardforce by the operator is required to initiate movement to its closedposition.

From the foregoing detailed description it is believed that theoperation of the improved hinge and counterbalance construction ofthisinvention is apparent. It will be particularly observed however thatthere is provided in accordance with this invention an improved hingeand counterbalance mechanism which is simple and rugged in construction,which can be manufactured at low cost, and which produces adjustableeasily operated means for hingedly supporting a door for closing theopening of a front opening type of cabinet.

While a particular embodiment of this invention has been described andillustrated it will be understood that many modifications may be madetherein and it is intended in the appended claims to cover all suchmodifications as come within the true spirit and scope of thisinvention.

What'we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

1. In a hinge construction for hingedly supporting a door in a cabinetof the front opening type so that the door may be swung about ahorizontal axis between a substantially vertical closed position and asubstantially horizontal open position, a hinge mechanism comprising ahinge bracket, a pintle, a socket adapted to re,- tatably receive saidpintle, a recess formed in said socket permitting the insertion andremoval of said pintle in said socket by a substantially radial movementof said pintle relative to the axis of said socket, an axial depressionin said socket adjacent said recess for rotatably receiving the end ofsaid pintle and having walls preventing the disengagement of said pintlefrom said socket by radial movement of said pintle relative to saidsocket, means for mounting said socket on said bracket so that saidsocket will have a 1 00se position in which said pintle may be movedradially through said recess for engagement and disengagement with saidsocket and a secured position in which the end of said pintle lies insaid axial depression, and means in said mounting means for adjustablysupporting said socket on said bracket so that said socket may be movedhorizontally to provide horizontal adjustment for the hinge axis of saiddoor.

2. A hinge construction for hingedly supporting a door in a cabinet ofthe front opening type so that said door may be swung about asubstantially horizontal axis between a substantially vertical closedposition and a substantially horizontal open position comprising a hingemechanism adapted to hinge each side of said door adjacent the loweredge thereof, each of said mechanisms including a hinge bracket adaptedto be secured to said cabinet, a pintle adapted to be secured to saiddoor at a point spaced from the lower end thereof, a hollow hinge socketadapted to rotatably receive said pintle in telescoping relationtherewith, said socket having a recess formed therein adjacent the endthereof permitting the insertion and removal of said pintle by a .radialmovement of said pintle relative to said socket when said socket isdisplaced axially relative to said pintle, means for securing saidsocket to said hinge bracket providing for a secured position of saidsocket on said bracket in which said pintle is received in telescopicrelation with said socket, and for a loose position of said socket inwhich it is displaced with reference to said secured position andaxially withrelation to said pintle so that the pintle may be movedradially through said recess for engagement and disengagement with saidsocket, and means in said mounting means for adjustably supporting saidsocket on said bracket so that said socket may be moved horizontally toprovide for horizontal adjustment of the hinge axis of said door.

3. In a hinge construction for detachably and adjustably supporting adoor in a frame, a hinge mechanism comprising a hinge bracket adaptedto'be secured to said frame, a pintle adapted to be secured to saiddoor, a hollow hinge socket adapted to rotatably receive said pintle intelescoping relation therewith, said socket having an open slot at oneend thereof permitting the insertion and removal of said pintle by aradial movement of said pintle when said socket is displaced axiallyrelative to said pintle, means mounting said socket on said bracketproviding for movement thereof in a lateral direction with relation tosaid bracket and also in a radial direction with relation to it so thatwhen moved in said lateral direction it is axially displaced for theinsertion and removal of said pintle through said slot, and when movedin said radial direction to permit an adjustment of the hinge axis ofthe door, said mounting means including means for securing said socketto said bracket when adjusted to a position in said radial direction.

EDGAR S. STODDARD. PHILIP K. BORMAN.

